Review: John Wick
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
It might seem odd to use the word "sincere" to describe a movie that consists of Keanu Reeves killing dozens of suited-up schlubs over his dead beagle, but that's what it is.
City Paper grade: B+
More action movies should be directed by stuntmen. If even a few of them turn out as enjoyable as David Leitch and Chad Stahelski's John Wick, it'll be a mitzvah for a genre long in need of a little back-to-basics counter-programming. It might seem odd to use the word "sincere" to describe a movie that literally consists of Keanu Reeves killing dozens of suited-up schlubs over his dead beagle, but that's what it is. No hifalutin wire work, no egregious CGI, no laughable attempts at a twisty-turny Guy Ritchie plot — just an hour and a half of slick ass-kicking, in the pissed-off American tradition. As Wick, a legendary hitman who left the underworld behind for love, Reeves isn't exactly King Lear, but anyone who's looking for that is in the wrong theater anyway. Leitch, a prolific action veteran, and Stahelski, Reeves' stunt double going all the way back to Point Break, understand what works and what doesn't, mixing flashy Hong Kong-inspired gunplay with close-quarters MMA grappling that leaps off the screen. The stiffs, mini-bosses and big boys Wick works through en route to redemption — Adrianne Palicki, against type as a sneering rival assassin; Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen as the Russian mafia scion who started the whole thing — are sculpted with humor and economy in mind. That latter quality might actually be the most valuable, getting you in fast and out satisfied.
